Champsosaurus laramiensis

Champsosaurus laramiensis

A prime example of convergent evolution, Champsosaurus and other choristoderes bear strong resemblance to the modern gharial. Specialized for snatching small aquatic prey, their long narrow jaws could rapidly snap shut under water powered by large muscles positioned on the bulbous posterior portion of the skull. This particular genus managed to pass through the apocalypse and survive into the Eocene, 10 million years after two-thirds of the world’s biodiversity was lost.